By: The Incredible Hermann Welm
President Kathy Gailey, “The African Queen,” called the meeting to order, reminding us that the R.I. President is John F. Germ and his theme for the year is “Rotary Serving Humanity.”
Our Greeter, Edgardo Carrillo, led us in the Salute to the Flag and gave us a short Thought for the Day: “Love is not a thought; love is an action.”
Visiting Rotarians: Jon Dwyer, of the Benicia club, and District Governor Elect Elect . Elizabeth Kline-Carrillo, Edgardo’s wife, and member of the Galaxy club, and “E-Club.”
Other Visitors: Ruth Harlan, Dr. Bill’s wife; Joyce Castro, of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District and an Honorary Rotarian, Brad Lay, another member -- a Principal, actually -- of the famous Colette and Brad Lay Family; Sharon Wilcox, Steve’s wife; Cindy Toby, Barry’s wife; Christene (sic) Burr, of the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation; Mike Prilutski, who is returning to the club once his application has been processed; and Harry Michaels and Jim Cerruti, who are “checking out” this club for potential membership.
The visitors were greeted by the “Short Version” of the Welcome Song! A very impressive rendition!
Grant Presentation: The African Queen asked Christene to step forward and accept the Club’s check for $82,782, the net proceeds from the Online Auction for Education. She thanked us and noted that this is the largest check they have ever received from anyone. She specifically noted the contributions of Colette Lay and Ana Dominguez and presented each with a box of chocolate.
Announcements:
“A Rotary Moment,” by Ray Giles: Steve Wilcox, accompanied by Sharon, was asked to step forward and was acknowledged as becoming the 12th member of our club to have achieved “Major Donor” status with The Rotary Foundation. This level is achieved by having donated $10,000 or more!
DGEE Jon Dwyer announced that the President-Elect Training Seminar (“PETS”) will be held on March 3 thru 5, in San Jose.
Colette Lay reported that the Stop Hunger Now event recently held at Cal High boxed 10,900 meals which are destined to be shipped to an orphanage in North Korea. About a dozen Rotarians and 30 to 40 Interactors participated.
Good News/Fine Free: None.
Recognitions: The African Queen was spotted driving a “new” 2006 Corvette, which had been a former Show Car, and was “recognized” accordingly!
St Valentine’s Day Program: The host for this fun event was Chris Gallagher once again! (It’s a bit hard to see how he puts these events together but one suspects a strong “Renee-Factor!”) This time each table was given a cute name such as “Lovebirds,” and asked to supply an answer to the 12 questions he posed. According to Chris, the eight most common answers were scientifically established by surveying thousands of Rotarians (which translates to Renee and Chris thinking them up over cocktails!).
Karen McNamara kept score as best she could since answers were flying around the room more or less at random. In other words, Chris did NOT technically lose control because he never established any in the first place! (This BTW is one of Chris’ favorite sayings!)
To paraphrase the questions:
- Wife is an animal in bed, but the bad news is, what kind of animal?”
A #1: Tiger (Also noted: Dead Fish, Porcupine, Cat)
- Name something men think they know more about than women, but don’t.
A #1: Cars (Also noted: Driving, Sports, Money, Everything)
- Activity that a man might be good at that suggests other “romantic” ablities?”
A #1: Dancing (Also noted: Kissing, Sports, Massage, Cooking)
- A job that a man may have that makes him a sex symbol even into old age?”
A #1: Wealth Advisor <(Huh?)> (Also noted: Actor, Pilot, Rotary Club President)
- When a woman describes a man, what is the first thing noted?”
A #1: Height (Also noted: Smile, Personality, Eyes, Job)
- What should a man not take along on his honeymoon?”
A #1: Another Woman (Also noted: Best Friend, Mother, Golf Clubs, Laptop)
- What is a man asked to get rid of after they’re married?”
A #1: Dog (Also noted: Clothes, Motorcycles, Beard)
- What might a man do on the first date that would make him seem like marriage material?”
A #1: Open Door (Also noted: Pay, Good Night Hug, Flowers)
- What might a wife tell her husband to change after marrying?”
A #1: Clothes (Also noted: Attitude, Friends, Job)
- What changes might a woman make that the husband would not notice?”
A #1: Hair (Also noted: Clothes, Home Décor, Perfume)
- What might a woman want to discuss on the first date that would prevent a second date?”
A #1: Wedding Bells (Also noted: Biological Clock, Ex, Money, STD’s)
- What have you observed a squirrel doing with his nuts?”
A #1: Eat Them (Also noted: Bury, Store in Cheeks, Run With); however a number of not-so-nice things were also called out which the Scribe chose NOT to record!
Karen McNamara then announced the winning table, but the outcome was probably a “fix” because nobody, not even Karen, could have made sense out of what had just transpired!
Raffle: The Greeter’s Gift -- a box of candy -- was won by Mike Prilutsky. The Lucky Marble Draw was won by Norbert Walz; he got the ten bucks but failed to draw the gold marble out of the bag!
Next Week: Our Greeter will be Mike Conklin. The Program will be an update on police activities in San Ramon, by Lt. Denton Carlson.